07/20/2010 -
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hamilton quarterback Kevin Glenn, Edmonton
linebacker Maurice Lloyd and kicker Noel Prefontaine, and Hamilton wide receiver
Dave Stala were selected as the CFL's top performers for Week 3 of the 2010
season.
Glenn earned the Offensive Player of the Week honors after spearheading the
Tiger-Cats to their first win of the season by completing 29-of-36 passes for
336 yards with three touchdowns in a 28-7 decision over Winnipeg. The
quarterback also added three carries for 19 yards.
Earning the defensive award was Lloyd, who had two sacks and six
tackles -- one for a loss -- in the Eskimos' 24-20 loss to Saskatchewan.
Joining Lloyd for this week's accolades is teammate Prefontaine, who took the
special teams honor. The kicker accounted for 12 of Edmonton's 20 points with
three field goals, a pair of singles and an extra point. He also punted nine
times for a 48.9 average.
Rounding out the weekly awards was Stala, taking the Canadian Player of the
Week. In Hamilton's win, the wide receiver pulled in nine catches for 124
yards.
<< Piniella to retire at the end of the season
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella has decided
to retire at the conclusion of the 2010 season.
Piniella is in his fourth season as Cubs manager. He guided the club to a
winning record in each of his fir
<< Jets to add six names to new Ring of Honor
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets announced on Tuesday
that six names associated with the franchise will be added to the club's new
Ring of Honor this upcoming season.
The initial class of inductees will include
<< Westermann to leave Schalke for Hamburg
Gelsenkirchen, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany defender Heiko Westermann is
set to leave Schalke for Hamburg, according to Schalke coach Felix Magath.
Westermann missed the recent FIFA World Cup with injury and the 26-year-old
wants st
<< Juve's Iaquinta sidelined with thigh injury
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus striker Vincenzo Iaquinta will miss
nearly all of preseason training with a thigh injury, the Italian club said on
its website Tuesday.
Iaquinta was initially injured in the FIFA World Cup playing f
<< Germany coach Loew signs two-year extension
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany boss Joachim Loew signed a two-year
extension Tuesday that will keep him with the team through Euro 2012.
Loew, who took over after the 2006 World Cup, has led Germany to second place
in Euro 2008
CFL West Division: Riders only team to win in week three >>
Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is now just one team in the West with
a perfect record, but their latest win looked far from perfect. The
Saskatchewan Roughriders pulled another rabbit out of the hat in week three,
this time storming b
American midfielder Zizzo signs with MLS >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American midfielder Sal Zizzo has left German
Bundesliga club Hannover and signed with Major League Soccer on Tuesday. Zizzo
will learn his new club after a weighted lottery is conducted on Wednesday.
Zizzo p
Petkovic advances in Austria >>
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Andrea Petkovic of
Germany was among the first-round winners Tuesday at the Gastein Ladies tennis
tournament.
Petkovic, this year's top seed, cruised to a 6-4, 6-0 victory ove
Bulls pull off sign-and-trade for C.J. Watson >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls have acquired guard C.J.
Watson from Golden State in a sign-and-trade deal that netted the Warriors a
second-round draft pick.
An official Bulls blog on the team's website confirmed the
Defending champ Davydenko advances at Hamburg >>
Hamburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top seed and defending champion Nikolay
Davydenko advanced with an easy second-round victory on Tuesday at the German
Open Tennis Championships, on a day which saw nearly every other seeded player
fall.
Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
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